Big East Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

2020-2021 Record: 18-7 (11-4)

Probable Starters: Caleb Daniels, Colin Gillespie, Justin Moore, Jermaine Samuels, Eric Dixon

Bench: Brandon Slater, Bryan Antoine, Chris Arcidiacono, Trey Patterson, Jordon Longino, Angelo Brizzi, Nnanna Njoku, Kevin Voigt

Until someone proves otherwise, Villanova remains atop their throne of the New Big East. Yes, Creighton and Seton Hall were in a 3-way tie for first with the Wildcats in the 2019-2020 season, but let’s not act like Villanova is not the team to beat once again. Jay Wright wasn’t inducted into the Hall of Fame this offseason for nothing. Villanova is a well-oiled machine, let’s take a quick look at the roster and how it has changed from last season.

The Wildcats only lost one starter. But he was an important starter, the focus of the team really. The will need to replace Jerimiah Robinson-Earl who led the team in minutes per game (34.5), points per game (15.7) and rebounds per game (8.5).

However, with Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels opting to return for their 5th season, Villanova returns four starters and 75.1% of last season’s minutes (per Bart Torvik). Gillespie and Samuels will be one of the best 1-2 punches in the conference and all 4 returning starters nearly averaged double digit points last year.

Gillespie is a steady presence for the Wildcats. He won co-(tri?) Big East Player of the Year and I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins that again this season… although he may share that honor with St. John’s Julian Champagnie this time. Last season, before going down with a knee injury, Gillespie was averaging 14.0 PPG, 4.6 APG, and just 1.6 turnovers per game. He has also consistently shot between ~36-40% from three during his Villanova career and there is no reason to think his numbers will dip.

I think it’s also fair to expect Samuels to have a breakout year. He has steadily improved over the course of his time under Jay Wright and had his most impressive season yet last year. Samuels played nearly 30 minutes a game while putting up 12.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and shot 37.1% from deep and 82.8% from the charity stripe. Look for Samuels to continue his upward trajectory into his 5th and final year.

If Villanova has any question marks it’s that they may be lacking some size and strength in the frontcourt, but I don’t foresee that being an issue. Jay Wright and Villanova tend to skirt around this issue frequently and I’m not going to second guess him.

I imagine Eric Dixon will slide into the final starting spot at the 5, but the Wildcats can (and probably will) go small and create nightmare mismatches. Once again Villanova has a nice balance of youth and experience, including an incoming top 20 recruiting class and look to be a threat to win the national title.